A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Specially crafted MXIT data sent via the server could potentially result in a denial of service vulnerability. A malicious server can send a packet starting with a NULL byte triggering the vulnerability.
Weakness
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pidgin | Pidgin | * | 2.10.12 (including) |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | devel | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | esm-apps/xenial | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | esm-infra-legacy/trusty | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | precise | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | trusty | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | trusty/esm | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | upstream | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | wily | * |
| Pidgin | Ubuntu | xenial | * |
Potential Mitigations
References
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3620
- http://www.pidgin.im/news/security/?id=102
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91335
- http://www.talosintelligence.com/reports/TALOS-2016-0137/
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3031-1
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-38
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3620
- http://www.pidgin.im/news/security/?id=102
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91335
- http://www.talosintelligence.com/reports/TALOS-2016-0137/
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3031-1
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-38